By Fred J. Robledo Staff Writer
BALDWIN PARK — For the Baldwin Park high school boys soccer team, remaining hungry has been front and center since losing last year’s CIF-Southern Section Division V title game to Salesian. The Braves returned 30-goal scoring senior Edgar Padilla and a handful of other starters hoping for a return trip to the finals. And they have handled those expectations well, beating Ganesha 2-1 on Thursday to clinch the Valle Vista League title and remain undefeated, which also should keep their No. 1 ranking in Division V in tact heading into the final week before playoffs begin. (To continue, click thread)
The Braves are 18-0-2 and 8-0 in the VVL, and have a combined 41-2-2 record since last year, but as impressive as that sounds, they desperately want a title to cap off their impressive two-year resume.
“We have played with that bulls-eye on our back since the season began,” Braves coach Ricardo Mira said. “We don’t always play great, today I thought we missed a few opportunities, but we usually find a way to win, that’s what I like about this team the most.”
Padilla, however, has become a cause of concern with a hamstring injury that has lingered since last week.
He didn’t warm-up and wasn’t going to play on Thursday, but when the Braves struggled to control possession early against the Giants, he laced up his shoes and checked in.
Even though Padilla struggled with his mobility, it didn’t stop him from setting up both goals. He sent a perfect strike into space for Cristian Garcia to run onto and score in the 21st minute, then he sent another perfect cross for Andrew Gonzalez, who finished from the left side in the 30th minute for a 2-0 lead.
“We were struggling and I couldn’t stand it,” said Padilla. “I don’t always need to take over the game. If I’m not available to do certain things, I look for other ways to help the team.
“I hope this (hamstring) heals quick. It really tightened up, but we needed to get this win, we don’t want to lose our momentum now.”
Ganesha (10-9-1, 6-2) stopper Mike Magana scored in the 35th minute to trim the Braves’ lead to 2-1.
